One of the things I love most about Etsy is the way independent artists support other independent artists. I know that I have already switched over to buying many things that I would normally buy elsewhere on Etsy instead. I much prefer to buy products through self-employed artists/designers/crafters than through someplace like.... Walmart, for instance.

SOLAR MAX RESCHEDULED: Impatient with the quiet sun, NASA researchers have rescheduled solar maximum. The peak was originally slated for 2012, but now it's going to happen this month. "We've launched millions of dollars worth of spacecraft to study solar activity, and what are we getting? Puny little A-flares and feeble old sunspots," complained a high-ranking source at NASA headquarters. "We need some real explosions! Rescheduling Solar Max should solve the problem." News of the shift was announced on April 1st.